Former President Donald Trump vowed to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the “Silk Road” website, during a Saturday speech.Ulbricht was sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years…

NASA is actively working to return surface samples from Mars in the next few years, which they hope will help us better understand whether ancient life once existed on the Red Planet’s surface billions of years ago. But what about atmospheric samples? Could these provide scientists with better information pertaining to the history of Mars? This is what a recent study presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated the significance of returning atmospheric samples from Mars and how these could teach us about the formation and evolution of the Red Planet. Here, Universe Today discusses this research with the study’s lead author, Dr. Edward Young, who is a professor in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at UCLA, and study co-author, Dr. Timothy Swindle, who is a Professor Emeritus in the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, regarding the motivation behind the study, how atmospheric samples would be obtained, current or proposed missions, follow-up studies, and whether they think life ever existed on the Red Planet. Therefore, what was the motivation for the study? Dr. Young tells Universe Today, “We learn a lot about the origin of a planet from its atmosphere as well as its rocks. In particular, isotope ratios of certain elements can constrain the processes leading to the formation of the planet.” Credit: European Space Agency Dr. Swindle follows this with, “There are two basic types of motivation. One is that we’re planning on bringing all these rock samples, and we’re going to be interested in knowing how they’ve interacted with the atmosphere, but we can’t figure that out without knowing the composition of the atmosphere in detail. So, we need an atmospheric sample to know what the rocks might have been exchanging elements and isotopes with. But we’d also like to have a sample of the Martian atmosphere to answer some basic questions about processes that have occurred, or are occurring, on Mars. For example, Martian meteorites contain trapped atmospheric noble gases, like krypton and xenon. But it appears that there are at least two different “atmospheric” components in those meteorites.” For the study, the researchers proposed several benefits of returning a Mars atmospheric sample to Earth, including atmospheric samples being among the NASA Perseverance (Percy) rover sample tubes, gaining insight into potential solar gar within the Martian interior, evolutionary trends in atmospheric compositions, nitrogen cycling, and sources of methane on Mars. For the Percy atmospheric sample, also known as Sample No.1 “Roubion”, the study notes how this sample was obtained after Percy tried to collect a rock core sample but ended up collecting atmospheric gases instead. Additionally, the study proposes the lack of leakage the sample tube will experience while awaiting its return to Earth and the gases present within the sample are ideal for analysis once returned to Earth, as well. But aside from the Percy rover sample, how else could a Martian atmosphere sample be obtained? “At least two other ideas for collecting a sample of Martian atmosphere have been suggested,” Dr. Swindle tells Universe Today. “One is to fly a spacecraft through the Martian atmosphere, collect a sample as it goes through, then return it to Earth. The other is to have a sample return “cannister” (it doesn’t have to be any bigger than a Perseverance tube) that has valves and a (Martian) air compressor. You could land it on the surface of Mars, open the valve to the atmosphere, turn on the compressor, and get a sample that has hundreds or thousands of times as much Martian atmosphere as a volume that is just sealed without compression, as Perseverance has done, and hopefully will do again.” Dr. Swindle and Dr. Young both mention the Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM) mission, which was proposed in 2002 by a team of NASA and academic researchers with the goal of collecting atmospheric samples at an altitude of 40 kilometers (25 miles) above the Martian surface and return them to Earth for further analysis. While SCIM was selected as a semi-finalist for the 2007 Mars Scout Program, it was unfortunately not selected for further development, and both Dr. Young and Dr. Swindle tell Universe Today there are currently no atmospheric sample missions being planned aside from the Percy rover sample. Therefore, what follow-up studies from this research are currently underway or being planned? Dr. Swindle and Dr. Young both mention how efforts are being made to collect small quantities of atmospheric gas due to the small size of the sample tubes, with Dr. Swindle telling Universe Today, “A big set of questions right now is how good a sealed Perseverance tube would be at containing an atmospheric sample. How good is the seal? Might the tube spring a leak on a hard landing? Would some molecules in the Martian atmosphere stick to the coatings of the tubes? There’s been some activity on all of these questions, and so far, the answers have all been good – it looks like those Perseverance tubes may do well, even though they weren’t really designed with atmospheric sampling in mind.” As noted, the purpose of obtaining and returning an atmospheric sample from Mars could help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of the Red Planet. While present-day Mars is a very cold and dry world with an atmosphere that is a fraction of the Earth’s atmosphere, with liquid water being unable to exist on the surface, along with no active volcanism, as well. However, significant evidence obtained from landers, rovers, and orbiters over the last several decades point to a much different Mars billions of years ago after it first formed. This included an active interior that produced a magnetic field that shielded the surface from harmful solar and cosmic radiation, a much thicker atmosphere being replenished from active volcanism, and flowing liquid water, all of which potentially led to the existence of some forms of life on the surface. However, given Mars’ small size (half of Earth), this means its internal heat cooled off much faster (possibly over millions of years), resulting in volcanism becoming inactive and the dissipation of the magnetic field the interior activity was driving, the latter of which led to harmful solar and cosmic radiation stripping the atmosphere, with the surface liquid water evaporating to space along with it. Therefore, do Dr. Young and Dr. Swindle believe life ever existed on Mars, and will we ever find it? Dr. Young tells Universe Today, “I really don’t know.  I think microbial life sometime in the past, or even now, is a reasonable hypothesis but we don’t have enough information.” Dr. Swindle also echoes his uncertainty whether life ever existed on Mars, but elaborates by telling Universe Today, “If there hasn’t, why did life start so early on Earth, but didn’t start on Mars, which had a similar climate at the time. If there has been, how similar is it to life on Earth? Since Earth and Mars are always exchanging rocks because of impacts, is life on Earth related to life on Mars? If it has existed, it will be tough to find. But an atmospheric sample could help. For instance, there seems to be methane in the Martian atmosphere. Most, but not all, of the methane in Earth’s atmosphere is biological, and analyzing the relative ratios of the isotopes of carbon or hydrogen is one of the best ways to figure that out.” When will we obtain an atmospheric sample of Mars and what will it teach us about the formation and evolution of the Red Planet in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! The post Could Martian atmospheric samples teach us more about the Red Planet than surface samples? appeared first on Universe Today.

Police in Quebec said that the notorious killer was attacked and that his injuries were considered life-threatening.

"She's not just another Black girl missing. She was somebody and she meant a lot to a lot of people," said Kimberly Kite of the Broken Link Foundation.

Ozzy Osbourne recently said in an interview for his own internet show “The Madhouse Chronicles” that he felt that Black Sabbath was still an unfinished business because the original drummer Bill Ward wasn't part of the final reunion and tour. So he said that he would love to do a final concert of the band with him. The band's guitarist Tony Iommi is currently promoting the box-set "Anno Domini", which is composed by the albums with Tony Martin on vocals. Iommi was interviewed by Eddie Trunk (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) and was asked if he would also like to do that show with Bill and he also said it would be great. Like Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi also would like to do one final show with Bill Ward "It's a funny old thing, really. I mean, God, we'll be 90 by the time we do that. (Laughs) It'd be a nice idea, but you're gonna get everybody going, 'Oh, they're doing it for the money. They're doing it for this, they're doing it for that, they're doing it…' Well, it wouldn't be. I mean, it'd be something that'd be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing. But we'll see. I mean, who knows?" Tony Iommi said. He was also asked by Trunk if he misses performing live and he said: "It's great to see the audience. I love to play live. But I have been playing. You obviously know about the Black Sabbath ballet. And it was great for me to go on at the end — I was playing on the end of the show, which was really good to get out and play live again. And then I did a gig with Johnny Depp when he came over (With Hollywood Vampires); I played on one of their shows, which was great." "It's really good to be able to do that. But, yeah, for me, I've always loved playing live. But I have to look at it realistically at my age. I can't go out and do a two-year tour like we were doing before. And to put something together like the original Sabbath or this or that or the other, you've gotta do it a long time because of the cost of everything. But it would be nice, yes, to do a one-off, if that ever happens, yeah," Tony Iommi said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxjz6VhUOr8&pp=ygURYmxhY2sgc2FiYmF0aCBuaWI%3DThe post Like Ozzy, Iommi also would like to do one final show with Bill Ward appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

The Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson is currently promoting his new album "The Mandrake Project" and he is touring all over the world with his own band. So he has been talking a lot with the press lately and in an interview with Qobuz (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) the musician talked about some bands including Black Sabbath. He praised their entire discography and said that the bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler and the guitarist Tony Iommi were who made Black Sabbath consistent. Because they still made great albums with the band with different singers and drummers. Bruce Dickinson says Geezer and Iommi made Black Sabbath consistent "I was a kid and got this album (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), and I was still a virgin, which made me open it up and go, 'Oh, my God. Look at those women.' But what a great record. What a great album. What a great comeback album." "But, yeah, the first two records are amazing. Well, no, I mean, 'Vol. 4' was incredible as well. What a consistent band. And it's Geezer and Tony. I mean, if you look at all the people, all the different vocalists, not just Ozzy, they've all been (great). 'Born Again' — great album. Everybody goes, 'Oh, forget that one.' No, it's a great album," Bruce Dickinson said. The Sharon Osbourne x Iron Maiden story Well, there is some animosity between Sharon Osbourne and Iron Maiden, because when the band performed at Ozzy's festival Ozzfest back in 2005, Dickinson would "slag Ozzy" each night during their set. That obviously made Sharon furious and she simply hired people to throw eggs at them during their show. “We’ve known those guys since the 80s and we offered them the show. They were getting paid $185.000 dollars each night. Everything they wanted they got. They would go on stage and Bruce Dickinson, each night would slag Ozzy. (He would) Say really disrespectful things about him and Ozzy is the schmuck that is paying him!” “So I’m thinking to myself ‘Let it go on. Just carry on your little shit’. So on the last night in L.A, I’ve got 200 hispanic kids, loaded them with eggs. They had peanut butter, they fucking pelted the shit out of them. Then I went on stage and I said ‘Look, don’t fuck with us. Don’t be disrespectful, this is what you get.” In the same conversation with Howard Stern she pointed out that she knew for a long time that the Maiden members were “trouble”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL_svZmiGWw&pp=ygUNemVybyB0aGUgaGVybw%3D%3DThe post Bruce Dickinson says Geezer and Iommi made Black Sabbath consistent appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

The classic Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach, who was a member of the band from 1987 to 1996, until he was fired, said recently in an interview with Eddie Trunk that there was a good chance that the band could finally reunite after almost 30 years. He said that he just had to write a really good email to fix some "miscommunication". That of course, made many fans get excited about the possibility but now in an interview with The Hook Rocks, the band's guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo said that the reunion won't happen. According to him the decision was taken by him and the other original member like Rachel Bolan (Bass), alongside the classic member Scotti Hill (Guitar). Skid Row says they don't want to reunite with Sebastian Bach “It's not gonna happen. I say the same thing every time. I'm thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you're in.” "The reason that this isn't happening is because there's three of us, myself, Scotti and Rachel – who've had conversations about this, and we've all been on the same page that we don't wanna go down that road again. We just, we don't.” He continued: "Rachel has taken a beating over this through the years. He's the one who's been blamed for this. 'Oh, it's Rachel's ego.' 'It's this and that.' No, that's a load of bullshit. That is not true. And I feel bad because he's really, really had to shoulder that blame and has never said anything derogatory or anything like that. But you know what? The truth of the matter is that Rachel, Scotti and myself have continually felt the same way, that we enjoy being happy in this band and we're really happy,” Dave "Snake" Sabo said. Skid Row’s current line-up has Dave “The Snake” Sabo (Guitar, vocals – Since 1986), Rachel Bolan (Bass – Since 1986), Scotti Hill (Guitar – Since 1987) and Rob Hammersmith (Drums – Since 2010). In 2024 Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale will be the band’s touring vocalist. The band’s most recent album is “The Gang’s All Here” released in 2022. Bach is currently promoting his new solo record “Child Within the Man” (2024). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luKsOCWhYKs&pp=ygUSc2tpZCByb3cgbHp6eSBoYWxlThe post Skid Row says they don’t want to reunite with Sebastian Bach appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

The music Black Sabbath made with Tony Martin on vocals will finally be available officially on the streaming platforms via the boxset Anno Domini, although it's only being promoted by Tony Iommi's social media. A few tracks like "Headless Cross" had already been released and the most recent ones made available for the fans are "Evil Eye" and "Get A Grip". The high quality version of the video for "Headless Cross" already was released by Iommi on his Youtube channel two months ago but now the HD version for "Get A Grip" is also available. That track is part of the final Tony Martin album with Black Sabbath. Called "Forbidden" and released in 1995, the band was also formed at the time by Neil Murray (Bass), Geoff Nicholls (Keyboards) and Cozy Powell (Drums). Watch the high quality version of the official video for the Black Sabbath song "Get a Grip" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDmEPJfjyk Now, you might think it's weird that these songs and the box-set are only being promoted by Tony Iommi on his social media and there is nothing on Black Sabbath's official channels, rather than in the music streaming platforms. The thing is that Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne are the ones who own the name "Black Sabbath" and although there is no official information about why Iommi is promoting the material only on his social media and Youtube, we can think that is because the other half, which is Ozzy, didn't agree with that material being featured on Sabbath's official media and website. That's also not a surprise because only the first and original era of Black Sabbath is featured on the band's social media. The years with Dio, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin, for example, were never featured on the band's website, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Which is obviously a shame.The post Black Sabbath finally releases HD version of “Get a Grip” videoclip appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

"He set a great example for all of us local musicians." The post Ian MacKaye: the trailblazing ethos of Dave Grohl’s musical hero first appeared on Far Out Magazine.